Future bleak for Ben & Jerry

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11/20/00 9:35:09 PM Eastern Standard Time

    airworks (Lar)

 

By ROSS SNEYD, AP Business Writer

 

MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) - A Unilever executive was

appointed chief executive at Ben & Jerry's on Monday

in what may mean a speedy exit for the ice cream

company's hippie-capitalist cofounders.

 

Yves Couette was installed by Unilever PLC, the

Anglo-Dutch food conglomerate that bought Ben &

Jerry's in August. He replaces Perry Odak. Ben Cohen

and Jerry Greenfield issued a statement expressing

disappointment.

 

` " We strongly supported a different candidate, a

longtime member of Ben & Jerry's board of directors

whose commitment to our social policies was clear and

established,'' they said.

 

` " As owner, Unilever of course has the legal right to

manage Ben & Jerry's in the way it sees fit. We have

not decided whether or not to remain with the

company.''

 

Cohen is on Ben & Jerry's board of directors, and both

men are still company employees, marketing the ice

cream they helped to make famous.

 

Cohen and Greenfield are childhood friends and former

hippies who built a company

devoted to both social ideals and funky ice cream

flavors. The company donates a share of its profits to

charity.

 

Unilever and Couette have said they are dedicated to

Ben & Jerry's social ideals.

 

Couette, a native of France, has worked for Unilever

in France, Indonesia, the United States and Mexico for

24 years. He said he ran a Unilever ice cream company

in Mexico for four years that was similar to Ben &

Jerry's.

 

When Couette was introduced to employees during a

meeting last week, three other executives said they

expected to leave the company, said Unilever spokesman

Stephen Milton.

 

Milton said the executives are Michael Sands, chief

marketing officer; Elizabeth Bankowski, director of

social mission; and Bruce Bowman, senior director of

operations.